As you can see, the unemployment rate has been falling in the state since the fall of 2009, but it also shows the drop in the state's overall labor force.

The labor force is the overall number of employed people plus unemployed people.

The labor force has been plummeting since the end of 2006, and it has only nudged upward in the last two months. (See that little tail at the end of the blue line?)

From the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget:

Michigan’s workforce rose for the second month in a row in February, however it continues to be down over the year. From February 2011 to February 2012, Michigan’s labor force decreased by 28,000 or 0.6 percent. In general, the state’s labor force has been receding since 2006.

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in February continued its downward trend, declining over the month by two-tenths of a percentage point to 8.8 percent, according to data released today by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB). Total employment rose by 22,000 in February as the number of unemployed declined by 8,000. The state’s workforce grew by 14,000 over the month.

Director of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives Rick Waclawek said "the professional and business service sector in Michigan has recently displayed significant momentum, adding jobs in February for the seventh consecutive month."

I'll post up the graph that shows the trend lines in unemployment and the state's total labor force since January of 2001 once I double check the numbers.